Veg Out This Summer with Jeannine McAndrew

Summer has finally arrived, and it’s the
perfect opportunity to relax outdoors with your nearest and dearest. One great way to enjoy some family time is to get the kids involved in growing food with you. Even toddlers will relish watering plants and delving around in a tub to pull up baby new potatoes, while older kids can be given their own plot to tend.  The sun has got his gardening gloves on, let’s give him a hand...

If you put aside an hour or two this weekend you could be harvesting delicious crops in just six weeks.
You don’t need an allotment or a huge garden – there are all manner of containers that you can put on the patio or a sunny windowsill. Grow bags are ideal for a range of vegetables, and ‘Gro-sacks’ are now available which are specially designed for growing veg on patios. If space is at a premium, you can also plant
vegetables in any spare spots in between other plants in your garden; spinach and red cabbages are decorative in their own right.

Getting Prepared
If you want to create your own kitchen garden area, draw up a scale plan so you know exactly
how much room you have available. This will help you make the most of every centimetre.
If you’re using pots and growbags, place them close together with the tallest ones at the back. This creates a microclimate and makes them easier to water. If you have the space, raised beds are a great idea. They look great and can make it much easier to tend your plants. You can also enhance the growing conditions inside the beds by adding plenty of garden compost or well-rotted manure. Stylish kits are available
online, or you could speak to your local scaffolding company as you may be able to pick up some boards for free. First put stakes deep in the ground (whacking them with a club hammer will do the trick), then nail the
boards in place. They can be any length, but aim for them to be no more than 1m wide so
that you can easily lean over to harvest your delicious crops.

Do’s & Don’ts!
DO...

• Water your veg regularly. The morning or evening is the most effective time as less moisture is lost through evaporation.
•  Give plants a good deep drench once a day or every two days. This encourages them to send their roots deep into the ground.
•  Keep harvesting veg like tomatoes, beans and spinach regularly to encourage plants to keep producing more.
•  Look out for tiny butterfly eggs on the underside of cabbage leaves. Gently rub them off between finger and thumb.
• Weed little and often. Use a hoe between your rows of veg, or pull up weeds by hand, before they get a chance to become established.

DON’T...

• Stop planting new seeds. Get into a routine of sowing a few rows every few weeks so you have a succession of fresh, tender crops.
• Waste any of your crops – if you have more than you can eat, cook large pots of your favourite dishes and freeze them in handy portion sizes, or invite friends and family round for a feast!
• Be afraid to experiment – a long, hot summer is the perfect time to try growing more exotic veg like okra or aubergines.
• Skimp on plant food – a regular application of an organic feed such as liquid seaweed makes all the difference to the health, vigour and flavour of your crops.

For the full feature see Chaat! Magazine Issue 2
By Jeannine McAndrew